It was a tough January for the Oklahoma City Thunder who actually came out of one of the most difficult January schedules right about .500. The team will return home a bit battered on Wednesday to host the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls haven’t had as tough of a road of late, but they’ve got their own issues with locker room drama abound for a team that thanks to a weak Eastern Conference is still somehow relevant.
At 9:30 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NBA basketball game on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
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Odds Analysis
The Thunder have managed to turnaround a rough start to a long road stretch, but this team is still battered and bruised. They’re continuing to ride the shoulders of Russell Westbrook and he can only do so much.
Prior to this past month the team had never lost by double-digits in a game that Westbrook notched a triple-double. After such a loss on Sunday, they’ve now done just that three times in their last 17 games. Even so, this team is 4-4 ATS in its last eight games and 14-7-1 ATS overall at home.
On the opposite side of things, the Bulls’ issues in the clubhouse have spilled onto the court with recent losses to Miami and Atlanta. They’ve also been a tough team for bettors to back given a 2-5 ATS record in their last seven games.
Last Meeting
Just under a month ago, these two teams last met in Chicago. The Thunder entered as the one-point favorites given the Bulls’ inconsistencies and came away covering the spread with ease, winning 109-94.
While Russell Westbrook was good, shooting 9-for-18 for 21 points and 14 assists, it wasn’t one of his better games. The star guard is averaging a triple-double, but didn’t get one the last time against Chicago and scored nearly 10 fewer points than his season average.
Instead, the Thunder were able to rely on big performances inside the paint by Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. The two combined to shoot 20-for-35 for 42-points and 16 rebounds. Chicago had no response for the big men. Inside for the Bulls, Jimmy Butler was 0-for-6 from the floor and had just a single point. Robin Lopez, meanwhile, was 1-for-7 for three points and the Bulls had an 18-point deficit with him on the court. The Thunder were +13 with Adams on the floor and +27 when Kanter played.
Defensively, Oklahoma City did really well, as the Bulls shot 41-percent from the floor. The Thunder notched five blocks in the game and out rebounded Chicago four boards.
Offensively, the Thunder basically scored at will shooting 56.6-percent from the floor and outscoring the Bulls inside the paint by 24-points. They also won the fast break points 25-4.
Letdown Spot
After playing seven of their previous eight games on the road, the Thunder will return home for this game against Chicago on Wednesday, but not before a Tuesday night showdown against the Spurs in San Antonio.
With Oklahoma City facing the Cavs and Spurs in back-to-back games on the road and then heading home without a day off to play the Bulls, they’ll be in a spot where we could see a letdown, particularly for a team that’s so reliant on a single player. Fatigue impacts everyone, even someone as good as Westbrook.
On top of that, Chicago will seem like an easy opponent after taking on two of the better teams in all of the NBA in its previous two games. While the Bulls can be very good when they’re on, they’re a hit-or-miss team with a record under-.500.
Free NBA ATS Picks
A return to Oklahoma City and the Chesapeake Energy Arena should do the Thunder a lot of good. They were able to salvage the last couple weeks after a rough start, but this is a 16-6 team at home and a below-.500 squad on the road, and they showed they could topple the Bulls in Chicago.
Look for a bigger game from Westbrook this time around, but it’s unlikely the difference inside will be nearly as big. There are certainly significant holes inside for the Bulls, but both Butler and Lopez are good players that didn’t play like it last time these teams met. Add in the injury to Kanter and Adams could find himself a big overexposed.
Even so, the Bulls are a bad road team and while they’re going to be more rested, that won’t be enough. Take the Thunder over an overly mediocre Chicago team.
NBA Odds: Thunder 106, Bulls 98
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